StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Social Welfare and Happiness - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Social Welfare and Happiness" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the problem of social welfare and happiness. We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.4% of users find it useful
Social Welfare and Happiness
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Social Welfare and Happiness"

Download file to see previous pages

Using a country’s Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, as a measure of happiness would presume Koenig’s quote to imply we are doing the exact opposite. The formula for deriving a region’s GDP is consumption + investment + government spending + (exports – imports). It is the consumption part of this equation that would assume to measure a region’s happiness; after all, if people are buying, or consuming, goods, then they must be happy—expressing freedom from want and distress—right?

So, why, then do people generally list factors other than money as contributing to their happiness? Is there truly a gap between how people measure happiness and how governments measure happiness?

In a poll conducted by the author, less than half of participants listed money as directly related to their happiness. Other factors listed by participants included significant others, children, family, and health. These factors do not find their way into the GDP equation. Critics of using GDP as a measurement of health tend to ignore the human factor; instead, relying on how hard data is interpreted and from what sector. Black market economies, recovery after natural disasters, volunteer work, and trade between multinational corporations that straddle borders are grey areas that do not allow governments to get an accurate picture of how consumer spending is contributing to a population’s expression of freedom from want and distress.

The perception that living standards are associated with GDP is evident in how many countries use it to measure a population’s ‘happiness.’ Many people believe that when output increases, more goods are available for consumption. The increase in consumption is equated to happiness; consumption is one of the factors in the formula that determines GDP.

The increase in government spending that would accompany an increase in consumption--the result of more tax revenue for expenditures on health, education, and environmental programs--is also generally associated with happiness. That is if governments truly appropriate increases in revenue to those types of programs, and do not defend parliamentary salaries. If this occurs, GDP cannot be an accurate measurement of a nation’s happiness. Social programs designed to improve the quality of life for a population suffers, as do the people.

A BBC News article discussed Conservative leader David Cameron’s involvement in “The Happiness Formula” program, which attempted to break away from governments’ tendencies to measure happiness by GDP.

“We should be thinking not just what is good for putting money in people’s pockets but what is good for putting joy in people’s hearts”, Cameron said.

The Labour government, in 1998, introduced a series of 13 new indicators of performance, which took into account not only economic factors but also the environment and social welfare.

These categories were:
- Economic growth, as the main indicator of a successful economy,
- Social investment,
- Employment,
- Health and life expectancy,
- Education and training,
- Housing quality,
- Climate change,
- Air pollution,
- Transport,
- Water quality,
- Wildlife,
- Land use
- Waste.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Social Welfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/sociology/1528620-social-welfare
(Social Welfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1528620-social-welfare.
“Social Welfare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1528620-social-welfare.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Social Welfare and Happiness

How are the categorical imperative (Kant) and/or the greatest happiness principle (Mill) applied in law

Applications of Categorical Imperative and the Greatest happiness Principle in Law The concept of law in every society is substantially impressionable and must be debated upon and well thought of, taking all aspects of morals and ethics into consideration.... Two particular theories or principles that have been applied in law are Categorical Imperative (CI) by Immanuel Kant and the Greatest happiness Principle (GHP) by Stuart Mill.... According to Mill utilitarianism refers to a standard of morality whose ultimate goal is to achieve happiness with the majority of the population (Mill 16)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

What About Gross National Happiness

However, there have been voices raised regarding the assumption of a relationship between GDP and happiness, with several prominent personalities suggesting that the GDP is a contributing factor to happiness and not the only, nor the most important factor.... Research then started on this topic and there were several suggestions which combined to form the satisfaction and happiness in a person's life.... forums, it has been argued that money is not the only contributing factor to wellness and happiness, but they admit that it is one of the most important factors....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework

Japan's Nationalism

This skepticism is the core of my paper which seeks to find the causes of Japanese distrust and disloyalty against their government; and the ways through which the Japanese citizenry can increase their happiness and loyalty to their government.... The country is found wanting when compared to Denmark which was ranked the leading country in happiness in the world....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Drug Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies

In the paper 'The Drug Marketing Strategies of Pharmaceutical Companies' the author discusses a well-known fact that the drug marketing strategies of Pharmaceutical companies often border on the unethical and are rarely above board in the strict sense of the word.... ... ... ... The author states that the tactics of drug companies comprise several aspects like DTCDA (Direct to Consumer Drug Advertising), unethical recruitment of physicians, physicians targeted promotions, researchers' conflicts of interests and finally, data manipulation during drug trials, which are by no means ethical from any frame of reference....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

The Concepts of Happiness and Pains

The author states that the concept of happiness is too comprehensive to analyze because it has innumerable angles, perspectives.... The definition of happiness differs from person to person.... In his entire life man strives only for happiness because it is the thing which is there at the base of the life.... If the causes of worldly happiness increase, we won't be able to get the happiness It is the accepted fact that everyone from this world is seeking happiness and desperately pursuing happiness....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Happiness Lessons From a New Science by Richard Layard

This book review "happiness Lessons From a New Science by Richard Layard" focuses on a desperate churning process of the various factors that contribute to happiness and unhappiness that has been attempted by Layard.... The reading of the book kindles curiosity, but the discernible reader knows that the final verdict on the concept of happiness, leave alone its achievement, can be delivered only by the realized souls.... If one understands that the world can not run on happiness, one definitely knows what happiness is!...
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

The General Principles of Utilitarianism

This assignment "The General Principles of Utilitarianism" stresses that the 18th-century social life in England was extremely different from that of the current century.... As the research paper outlines, the social belief at that time was such that people were not created equal; some classes of people in the society had more privileges than the other classes.... Jeremy Bentham questioned all these social inequalities with the help of moral theories with respect to utilitarianism....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Ethical Issues on Terrorism and Warfare

Proponents of sustainability argue that there is a need to develop strategies that will enhance the social welfare of humankind while facilitating ecological preservation to ensure the provision of essential goods and services for economic development (Newton 2003).... ustainability is based on the need to engage in activities that safeguard the welfare of the planet to ensure the survival of man and other species that inhabit the earth.... These approaches uphold environmental conservation as the main as an essential aspect in the protein of the social wellbeing for humankind and the preservation of cultural diversity (Newton 2003)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us